Should I Be Worried About the Swine Flu?
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With all of the recent news about the possibility of a Swine Flu Pandemic, we thought that we would give you the basics about this strain of influenza.
First of all, what is it?
Well, basically it’s a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that is responsible for outbreaks of the flu virus in pigs. They become very sick, but it is not deadly. Most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months, as in the human flu season.
Can humans catch this form of influenza?
Not normally, but random human infections with swine flu have happened. They mostly happen in persons with direct exposure to pigs. There have been documented cases of one person spreading swine flu to others.
What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?
The symptoms are basically the same as the flu virus humans normally get – fever, tiredness, nausea, diarrhea, sore throat, lack of appetite and coughing.
How does swine flu spread?
Influenza viruses can be spread directly from pigs to people and vise versa. Human infections with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur where people are in close contact with infected pigs. For example livestock workers, farms, and fair workers. People to people transmission of swine flu can also happen. Just like with cold germs, coughing or sneezing from infected persons can spread the virus.
How is Swine Flu diagnosed?
Well, a respiratory specimen would need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of the illness .
What type of medicine is used to treat Swine Flu?
A variety of antiviral drugs are licensed for use in the US and at this time, the Center for Disease Control recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.
I remember the swine flu outbreak among soldiers in Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976. The virus caused 1 death and all of the patients were healthy before the infection. The virus was transmitted to close contacts in a basic training environment, with limited transmission outside the basic training group. They say the virus circulated for about a month and then disappeared. The origin was never discovered.
